The Original Viral Cat Photographer

Cats are famously impossible to corral. Those furry little narcissists have their own agenda and care little about your wants and needs. And perhaps no one is more intimately familiar with their stubborn independence than cat photographer Walter Chandoha.

Chandoha, 95, has spent the majority of his life behind the lens, and it was early in his career when he discovered he had a knack for capturing animals. Although the New Jersey native has photographed dogs, fowls, and horses, cats have always been the fan favorite. That, Chandoha says, is because cats are nature's divas.

"Cats are just naturally expressive and they get into such a variety of situations," he says.

For 40 years, Chandoha's cat photos — with their signature backlighting — have appeared in advertisements (for pet food, shoes, and even women's lingerie), magazines (from National Geographic to LIFE), and more than 30 books.

But it takes an expert hand, not to mention limitless patience, to get the perfect shot. Chandoha attributes his success to his wife, Maria, who has long acted as the animal handler and charmer. "It's not a one-person job," he says. Nor is it a quick one.

For his photos, Chandoha used a small upstairs bedroom in his family's suburban New Jersey home as his studio. There, Chandoha would situate himself on his knees, his camera at the ready, while the cats were placed on a table or a box. Then, Maria would get to work — holding and cajoling the cats; entertaining them with toys; petting them — until they relaxed in spite of the glaring lights.

With his window of opportunity revealed, Chandoha would give his wife the okay to pull her hands away, then photograph madly while the cats were in pose. He'd run through a zoo of animal noises and tap the hood of his camera to try to capture the Holy Grail of cat portraiture — eye contact.

"If one cat would be looking out this way and another looking somewhere completely different, that's no good," he says. "The eye contact has to be just right."

The best shots may come by chance, but Chandoha's work manages to herd the impossible, adorably capturing cats in photographs that transcend time and trends.

According to the ASPCA, 3.3 million dogs enter shelters each year in the United States. Although that number has gone down since 2011 (from 3.9 million) there are still millions of dogs waiting in shelters for a forever home. October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month; here are 25 benefits of adopting a shelter dog.

New Smithsonian Exhibit Explains Why Felines Were the Cat's Meow in Ancient Egypt

BY Kirstin Fawcett

October 13, 2017

Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.406E

From bi-coastal cat cafes to celebrity pets like Lil Bub, felines are currently enjoying a peak moment in popular culture. That’s part of the reason why curators at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery—which will re-open to visitors on Saturday, October 14, following a 3-month closure—decided to dedicate a new exhibition to ancient Egypt’s relationship with the animals.

“Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt” looks at the cultural and religious importance of cats, which the Egyptians appreciated long before YouTube was a thing and #caturday was a hashtag. It's based on a traveling exhibition that began at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. On view until January 15, 2018, it's one of several exhibits that will kick off the grand reopening of the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler galleries, the conjoined national museums of Asian and Middle Eastern Art.

The Freer has been closed since January 2016 for major renovations, and the Sackler since July 2016 for minor ones. The upgraded institutions will make their public debut on October 14, and be feted by a free two-day festival on the National Mall.

Featuring 80 artworks and relics, ranging from figurines of leonine deities to the tiny coffins of beloved pets, "Divine Felines" even has a cat mummy on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. These objects span from the Middle Kingdom (2008 to 1630 BCE) to the Byzantine period (395 to 642 CE).

Weight in Form of a Cat, 305 to 30 BCE, Bronze, silver, lead

Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.114

The term “cat” is used loosely, as the Egyptians celebrated domestic mousers and fearsome predators alike.

“The Egyptians were close observers of nature, so they were observing cat behaviors,” Antonietta Catanzariti, the exhibition's in-house curator, tells Mental Floss. “They noticed that cats and lions— in general, felines—have aggressive and protective aspects, so they associated those attributes to deities.”

The ancient Egyptians viewed their gods as humans, animals, or mixed forms. Several of these pantheon members were both associated with and depicted as cats, including Bastet, the goddess of motherhood, fertility, and protection; and Sakhmet, the goddess of war and—when appeased—healing. She typically has a lion head, but in some myths she appears as a pacified cat.

Sculptor's Model of a Walking Lion, ca. 664 to 630 BCE, limestone

Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 33.190

While Bastet was a nurturer, Sakhmet—whose name means “The Powerful One”—could use her mighty force to either slay or safeguard humanity. These characterizations are typical of the ancient Egyptian worldview, which perceived the universe in dualistic terms. “There’s always a positive and a negative,” Catanzariti explains.

Contrary to popular belief, however, ancient Egyptians did not view cats themselves as gods. “The goddess Sakhmet does have the features as a lion, or in some cases as a cat, but that doesn’t mean that the Egyptians were worshipping cats or lions,” Catanzariti says. Instead, they were simply noting and admiring her feline traits. This practice, to an extent, also extended to royalty. Kings were associated with lions and other large cats, as they were the powerful protectors of ancient Egypt’s borders.

These myriad associations prompted Egyptians to adorn palaces, temples, protective amulets, ceremonial vessels, and accessories with cat images. Depending on their context, these renderings symbolized everything from protection and power to beauty and sexuality. A king’s throne might have a lion-shaped support, for example, whereas a woman’s cosmetics case might be emblazoned with a cat-headed female goddess of motherhood and fertility.

Figurine of a Standing Lion-Headed Goddess, 664 to 630 BCE, Faience

Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.943E

While cats were linked with heavenly figures and kings, they were also popular domestic pets. Their ability to catch vermin made them an important addition to households, and owners loved and anthropomorphized their pets just like we do today.

Egyptians often named, or nicknamed, their children after animals; Miit (cat) was a popular moniker for girls. It's said that entire households shaved their eyebrows in mourning if a house cat died a natural death. Some also believe that cats received special legal protection. (Not all cats were this lucky, however, as some temples bred kittens specifically to offer their mummified forms to the gods.) If a favorite cat died, the Egyptians would bury them in special decorated coffins, containers, and boxes. King Tutankhamen, for example, had a stone sarcophagus constructed just for his pet feline.

Cat's Head, 30 BCE. to third century CE, bronze, gold

Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.114

“Divine Felines” breaks down these facts, and more, into five thematic sections, including “Cats and Kings"; “Cats and Gods”; “Cats and Death”; “Cats and Protection”; and “Dogs as Guardians and Hunters.” Yes, there’s also an exhibition section for dog lovers—“a small one,” Catanzariti laughs, that explains why canines were associated with figures like Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification and the afterlife.

Did the ancient Egyptians prefer cats to dogs? “I would say that both of them had different roles,” Catanzariti says, as dogs were valued as hunters, scavengers, and guards. “They were appreciated in different ways for their ability to protect or be useful for the Egyptian culture.” In this way, "Divine Felines" is targeted to ailurophiles and canophiliacs alike, even if it's packaged with pointed ears and whiskers.